Cryptochrome 2 necessary for magnetosensitivity of American cockroach P. americana
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| Year of publication | 2011 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | There are many new insights about how the animal sense for geomagnetic field might work – whether based on magnetic particles in tissues or on light perception in visual pathway - but the exact mechanism of reception and transmission has not yet been clarified. In our work, we addressed the question of the role of Cryptochrome in compass sense of insects. Cryptochromes (CRYs) are molecules found in retina both vertebrates and invertebrates - among other things directly involved in controlling of circadian rhythms. In our tests, we worked with a cockroach Periplaneta americana which has the only vertebrate-like type of cryptochrom, CRY2. We combined molecular genetic approaches (RNAi gene silencing) with a behavioral assay (studying movement activity of cockroaches in changing magnetic field). Cockroaches were injected with CRY dsRNA and, 15 days later, they underwent an assay. Treated animals not only lost their circadian rhythmicity, but they were not able to perceive the magnetic field changes. The results give further evidence that in cockroaches, the Cryptochrom 2 is the key molecule involved in light-based magnetosensitivity. |
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